The exposure of the root structure of turf to air, moisture and nutrients tends to stimulate root growth. Aeration of turf by forming openings through the upper surface down to the roots tends to disturb the soil and roots beneath the surface of the ground cover. When moisture and fertilizer are applied through the openings, the root structure of the turf is able to directly absorb these nutrients, etc.
Some of the prior art aerators have a plurality of radially extending spikes or tines that are mounted on the perimeter surface of a cylindrical drum or other structure so that when the structure is rolled on the surface of the turf, the tines penetrate the surface of the turf. While this is one of the preferred methods of aerating turf, etc., there are times when the users of the turf wish to avoid unnecessary disruption of the surface of the turf that is caused by the tines during penetration, tilting and withdrawal of the tines from the turf. The relatively large openings remaining in the turf and some of the soil lifted out of the turf may be somewhat unsightly and may leave an undesirable residue on the surface of the turf.
In order to avoid these problems, aerators have been developed that comprise thin, flat blades that are oriented perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the supporting drum or other supporting structure, so that the blades tend to slice directly into the turf and then withdraw from the turf so as to minimize the surface disruption of the turf. While openings are left behind after the aerator blades have been withdrawn from the turf, the openings are more in the form of narrow slits that may be substantially invisible to the casual eye and little residue remains on the surface of the turf.
It is desirable that a multiple number of the slicer wheels be mounted on a common axle for the aerator so that a dense pattern of the slices formed in the turf can be accomplished. However, the amount of power and the weight required to operate a densely packed array of slicer blades might not be sufficient for full penetration of the slicer blades, since the more slicer blades that engage the turf at one time, the heavier the force must be to cause full penetration of the slicer blades.
Thus, it can be understood that it would be desirable to have a turf aerator that utilizes slicer wheels with a large number of slicer blades being employed and with the ability to more easily have the slicer blades fully penetrate the turf. It is to this improvement that this invention is directed.